የከፍተኛ ትምህርት አግባብነትና ጥራት ኤጀንሲ

Higher Education Relevance & Quality Agency

“Accreditation” refers to permission granted to a private higher education institution to function for three years based on an assessment of an institution’s program(s) by experts from selected HEIs and HERQA on the basis of human, material and financial input and the curriculum(s) the HEI has put in place.

“Reaccreditation” refers to permission granted to a private higher education institution to function for five further years beginning from the end of the accreditation period. This is based on an assessment of the program(s) of the institution for which it had been granted accreditation by experts from HERQA and selected HEIs on the basis of the self evaluation document and the status of the human, material and financial input the PHEI has put in place.

“Re-accreditation permit” refers to the type of licensing which was/will be granted to a higher education institution to continue the previously accredited program/s. In proclamation 351/2003 it was effective for three years beginning from the day the institution received the reaccreditation permit. However, in proclamation 650/2009 such permit will be effective for five years beginning from the day the institution received the reaccreditation permit.

An accreditation status of an HEI indicates:
The duration of the accreditation permit granted
The campus where the accredited program is found
Whether it is an undergraduate or graduate study
The mode of delivery endorsed
Allowable number of students (when appropriate)

Currently there are three modes of delivering undergraduate Bachelors and/or graduate Master’s level programs in the PHEIs of Ethiopia.

Regular Mode

This mode involves the delivery of courses on either full time basis during the day, where HEIs are allowed to offer up to 18 credit hours per semester (16 weeks) or a part time study (also known as extension) where HEIs are allowed to offer up to 12 credit hours per semester. In a regular mode of delivery, a program of study will take from 3 to 6 years for the fulltime students depending on the student’s major. Whereas, for the part time students a minimum of additional one year is required to complete their study. Doctor of medicine programs are allowed only in a fulltime mode of delivery.

Distance Mode

In this mode of delivery students are not expected to sit in classroom unless twice or three times per term (3 to 4 months) which are known as tutorial programs. Here, learning is expected to be through reading modules supported by resource centers with printed and electronic reference materials.

Cross-Border Mode

In this mode of delivery teaching learning will takes place by an institution in a source/provider country to students studying in Ethiopia using collaborative and non-collaborative transnational arrangements, such as franchising, twinning and joint degree programs. This mode of delivery is also applicable to an Ethiopian higher education institution providing training in another country using collaborative and non-collaborative transnational arrangements. In this mode of delivery the involved parties are required to submit how they intend to offer the degree jointly as per the minimum requirements set by Ministry of Education. Additional requirements have been implemented to evaluate such programs because of the involvement of another institution working in a different context. This modality is a recent development in the history of HE in Ethiopia where standards are still developing to make the delivery efficient in terms of quality assurance in HE.

The HE proclamation, 650/2009, indicated four statuses of HEIs. These are University; University College; College, and Institute. On the basis of the criteria indicted in the HE proclamation HERQA has been providing statuses for HEIs that apply to the Agency or the ministry of education. It should be noted however that the naming shows only the status of the institution, not refers to the quality of individual programs offered.

In proclamation 351/2003 this level was categorized under the higher education, but currently it is under the technical and vocational education.

Bachelors Degree:

This is an undergraduate level study which requires students to complete at least 108 credit hours of study unless he/she has been exempted from some courses he/she covered in previous studies. The total credit hour may reach up to 180 for Law and Engineering studies; up to 252 credit hours for Medicine. The admission criteria for bachelor’s degree programs have been issued every year by the Ministry of Education. This degree is a pre requisite to continue master’s level degrees.

Graduate Studies:

Master's Degree:

refers to the type of degree offered by HEIs for those who completed a minimum of three years undergraduate studies. It requires the completion of one to two years of course work with and culminated with or without research thesis. To be admitted to such programs a person must have a bachelor’s degree and fulfill other admission requirements set by the institution

Doctoral Degree:

refers to the type of degree offered by HEIs for those who completed a minimum of two years postgraduate studies. This usually takes four years with course works and a dissertation of an original research